The present invention relates generally to devices for cutting hair, and more particularly to devices of the type which employ a suction source to draw hair into a confined area where the hair is cut by cutting elements.
Traditionally, hair has been cut and trimmed using conventional cutting implements such as scissors and/or electrically operated clippers having blades that are motor-driven to provide a cutting motion. These traditional types of cutting implements are usually hand-held, and they therefore can be manipulated and moved in virtually any direction to compensate for variations in hair length, hair texture and the like. While these implements provide satisfactory results over a wide range of hair types, they usually require skilled handling by professionals, such as barbers and hair stylists who have been trained and who have acquired experience in dealing with the problems presented by this range of hair types. Because of the skills required to operate these tools, and the fact that the operator must visually observe the cutting operation itself so as to properly manipulate the implements during varying cutting operations (e.g. sideburns and longer back hair), it is not feasible for an individual to cut his or her own hair using these types of implements.
In an effort to provide a more controlled hair cutting operation that may be suitable for individual use, and professional use requiring reduced skills, it has been proposed heretofore to produce hair cutting devices that employ some type of generally enclosed conduit through which hair to be cut is drawn using a suction source, and cutting implements are disposed in the conduit and in the path of the hair drawn therein, whereby hair is cut and carried away with the air flow created by the suction source.
A typcal hair cutting device of the aforesaid type is disclosed in Baumann U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,825, in which conventional electrical hair clippers are positioned within a cylindrical housing having a source of suction attached at one end thereof to draw air, and hair, into the conduit through the other end. A specially formed deflector is placed in the conduit adjacent the cutting elements of the hair clipper for directing the air along a predetermined, relatively narrow flow path that is intended to ensure that the hair entrained in the air reaches the cutting elements of the hair clipper. The patent also discloses arrangements for selectively adjusting the position of the hair clipper with respect to the deflector to vary the path of the air and hair therebetween. While some measure of control of the air is obtained in this type of device, the air with the hair entrained therein is forced by the deflector to flow through a relatively narrow flow path defined by the deflector and the cutting elements to ensure that all of the hair is presented to the cutting elements, and it is believed that this narrow confined flow path significantly limits the application of the device in terms of its being universally usable with a wide range of varying hair textures, lengths and the like as would be required for a commercially feasible hair cutting device.
Other generally similar suction-type hair cutting devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,900,949, 4,030,196, 4,590,675 and 4,628,601, but they also have some of the same drawbacks as those described above, and in some cases, they suffer additional drawbacks such as complexity of construction and operation, and inadequate control of the presentation of hair to the cutting elements.
By contrast, the present invention provides a hair cutting device that is relatively simple and inexpensive to produce, and which provides a unique arrangement for properly directing a wide variety of hair types and hair lengths toward the cutting elements without requiring any significant skills for the user of the device.